For the past 18 months, the Canada-China Focus (CCF) project has worked to create a non-partisan and safe space for constructive conversations on Canada-China relations. We recognize that world events can have direct effects on communities, and the CCF plans to continue devoting its activities into the new year towards supporting those affected by anti-Asian racism; building cross-community understanding and solidarities with particular attention to the lessons of history; networking to promote an independent Canadian foreign policy; and, where appropriate, promoting Canada-China cooperation in the areas of labour, health, climate justice, and peace.
We are grateful to our partners and sponsors, the Center for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute. 

The primary goal of the CCF occasional news bulletin (ONB) is to share relevant and reliable information to support the general awareness and education of the public (our subscribers). While CCF does not currently have the capacity to provide our own analyses of international events on a regular basis, the ONB strives to promote those of other publishers and organizations that align with our mandate. The second service of the ONB is to keep our subscribers apprised of CCF hosted-events and activities, as well as relevant work of the CCF advisors, such as new publications or recent talks, that supports the exposure of the CCF project. To better fulfill the mandate of CCF, the content of the ONB will be expanded upon to now include the following:

• News items that raise awareness on the state of anti-Asian racism in Canada.
• Anti-racist resources.
• Important news updates on Canada-China relations.
• (External) analyses on Canadian foreign policy towards Asia/China
• “Historical Reflections”: history-based events, publications, or learning materials that (may) give food for thought for the current challenges in Canada-China relations, such as on historical instances/trends of anti-Asian racism and resistance or the historical relationship of Canada & China. 

The ONB will also now be released at a reliable time: on the first and third Thursdays of each month, until the end of 2023. Happy reading!

Published: February 2, 2023
Written by: Viggo Stacey

"Jing Yu‘s study on Chinese International Students‘ Experiences of Racism in Times of Crisis found that Asian students are missing in racial discourse in the US, and that Covid-19, geopolitical tensions with China and anti-Asian racism has put them in a vulnerable situation.
Participants in the survey reported issues from explicit racism, racial ignorance and double alienation, where they face discrimination due to their race as well as their nationality."

Published: January 16, 2023
Written by: Mike Howell

"While police have regularly publicized the level of hate-motivated incidents since the beginning of the pandemic, with increases at one point reaching 717 per cent year over year, much of that information has been related to high-profile cases.
The new data shows the total number of reported cases of violence, harassment or both towards Asian and East Asian people since March 11, 2020. Verbal and physical assaults against individuals are recorded, along with incidents of racist graffiti and vandalism."

Published: January 2nd, 2023
Written by: Brandon Rowe

"There is rising concern that Canada‘s renewed COVID-19 restrictions on flights from China could fuel anti-Asian hate, as hate crimes against Asian Canadians have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic.
In July 2020, Statistics Canada released a report that found Asian Canadians faced the largest amount of harassment or attacks based on race, ethnicity or skin colour."

Published: January 26, 2023
Written by: Joe Friesen

"The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) said it sought advice from federal security agencies on 48 applications for funding under the country‘s research partnership framework, about 4 per cent of all applications.
Of the applications sent for review, 32 were deemed to pose an unacceptable risk or a risk that couldn‘t be appropriately mediated, NSERC said. Two applicants withdrew before receiving a decision.
Only 14 proposals were approved for funding after being referred to the security agencies."

"Amid signs of another Cold War, the U.S. has a new McCarthy to “cleanse” itself of real and alleged pro-communist officials and influencers. With Russia in decline, further diminished by its disastrous war on Ukraine, the target has shifted to China. Even before his January 7 election as speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy was already a member of America‘s fast-growing anti-China bandwagon."